DDCA row: Arun Jaitley to file defamation cases against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leaders

Union Finance Minister will file civil and criminal defamation cases against Delhi CM.

DDCA row: Arun Jaitley to file defamation cases against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leaders
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Delhi: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will file civil and criminal defamation cases against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and some other AAP leaders.

The BJP leader is set to file the cases tomorrow, as per reports on Sunday.

Besides Kejriwal, cases are to be filed against Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpayee.

 

​"No legal notice would be sent to the Delhi CM. Apart from Kejriwal, a defamation case will also be filed against Kirti Azad. Cases will be also filed against other AAP leaders. The civil defamation case will be filed in the high court and the criminal case will be filed in the Patiala court," said a Bharatiya Janata Party source, as per IANS.

Reacting to the developments, Ashutosh tweeted:

Another AAP leader Kumar Vishwas tweeted:

Meanwhile, soon after former cricketer and BJP MP Kirti Azad's press conference regarding alleged corruption in Delhi and District Cricket Association, AAP leaders said today that the 'DDCA scam' was 'Commonwealth (scam) of cricket'.

 

They also demanded immediate removal of Jaitley from the Cabinet.

Addressing media at Kejriwal's official residence Kumar Vishwas said, "Now the onus is on Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether he will accept such a person in his Cabinet," as per PTI.

Addressing the media with another former player Bishan Singh Bedi, Azad had sought an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate into the working of the DDCA.

On the other hand, Jaitley has been vehemently rejecting the allegations calling them a propaganda technique of Kejriwal to deflect attention when he himself was in the 'dock' following a CBI raid in Delhi Secretariat.

 

Earlier on Thursday, addressing the press, AAP leaders, quoting from reports of Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), DDCA's internal probe committee and a Delhi Government-appointed inquiry panel, had accused Jaitley of giving "direct and indirect" consent to "massive corruption" in the cricket body.

Citing instances of such 'frauds', they had alleged that an additional expenditure of Rs 90 crore was incurred in renovation of the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium against sanctioned budget of Rs 24 crore and that fake companies were set up by DDCA office bearers to siphon off money through round-tripping.

On the same day, Jaitley had hit back at Kejriwal and accused him of spreading 'false propaganda', telling the media that the Delhi CM seemed to believe in untruth and defamation and had delivered a language that bordered on hysteria.

About the allegations against him, Jaitley had said that no personal allegation was ever made against him nor did he ever feel the need of contradicting it.

"There are fake allegations such as escalation of cost of construction of a stadium. When work expands, cost escalations are integral," he had said.

Jaitley had added that a brand new 42,000 capacity world class stadium was constructed by the Engineering Projects India Limited (EPIL), a public sector body at a total cost of around Rs 114 crores.

The BJP leader had also written a blog titled 'Falsehood as Free Speech':

(With Agency inputs)

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